Oil viscosity and service interval

[toad]

Greetings! Got a question about service intervals and recommended oil. I'm taking my Camry in tomorrow for it's recommended 5k mile service. While scheduling the appointment I asked the service person what would be performed. After looking up my car's info(same place I bought the car used) they said it would just be tire rotation and inspection. I asked if the oil/filter would be changed and she said that service is done at 10k mile intervals!

Now for full disclosure, I understand fully synthetic oils allow a longer oil change interval if paired with a higher capacity filter(I've been going between 7-9k on my Yaris for years DIY), but I've never heard of dealers saying flat-out 10k is recommended. I checked the recommended sevice manual in the glovebox and it DOES say 10k miles with 0w-20 or 5k with 5w-30, but it MUST be changed back to 0w-20 at the next oil change.

I know the thinner oil is better for fuel economy, but I always thought the thicker oil provided better protection? Also, does this mean they are using a higher-capacity filter? I only worry because my family is taking a very long road trip next month and I want to be sure we're ok. I would do the work myself, but we received a free year of service with the purchase and the filter is housed in a cartridge that requires a special tool(unlike the Yaris). Any thoughts? Thanks!

[IllusionX]

0w20 only comes synthetic. You shouldn't have issues by manufacturers recommendation.

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[tmontague]

I know the thinner oil is better for fuel economy, but I always thought the thicker oil provided better protection? Also, does this mean they are using a higher-capacity filter?

This may have been true in the past and technically in a lab test with increasing temps until failure. However, in the present time this is not the case in real world conditions with wear. Thinner oils have been shown to offer better protection with modern engines and some track guys recommend waiting until oil temps are above 220 degrees until hammering it due to the viscosity change.

BITOG has a lot of great info on this subject.

fwiw I was at the track last night and I was running Mobil 1 0w30. Oil temps sat around 250 degrees at their highest and pressure at idle during the cool down was about 5psi. Filled up my catch can a bit but not apparent issues with that oil. This was on an evening where ambient temps were almost 90 degrees.

[toad]

Thanks guys- I feel better now!

[SirDigby]

you can get the oil filter adapter for $20. you can get a real nice one for $45. it's not that special...